


Disappointment

by creepy_shetan



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Community: tfa_kink, Family Issues, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-12 18:18:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7944511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creepy_shetan/pseuds/creepy_shetan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Brendol Hux pays a rare visit to the <i>Finalizer</i>, Kylo seeks out the general.</p><p>(Originally posted 2016/2/1 as a fill for a prompt.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disappointment

Even from this distance, Kylo could feel it: pain, embarrassment, outrage, fear. Other emotions swirled together as well, forming a rather poignant anxiety cocktail. Everything in Kylo instinctively told him to leave, to avoid coming into contact, to not risk becoming infected with it himself -- but he locked it away with one deep breath.

He slowly walked through the large storage area, a small warehouse within a large warehouse on a level of the _Finalizer_ that didn't see much traffic. Some of the crates and boxes he passed were dusty. Following the anxiety like a scent led him to a more concrete trail: fresh smears in the dust, including a few partial handprints.

Kylo almost called out, but stopped short with his lips parted when he heard a noise. A sniffling noise. His boots, however, scuffed the floor and announced his presence anyway; so he cleared his throat and tried again.

"General?"

After a few seconds, a shadow moved near the wall some twenty meters ahead of him, and even in the dim light the slender form of Hux was unmistakable.

"Ren," he acknowledged. His voice sounded rough and wrong. "Unless it's an emergency, I would prefer--"

"--No. There isn't one, at least not with the ship." He strode closer but halted at Hux's expression, at the freshly split lip and the wetness in his eyes. His left cheek was still a little red in blotches. Kylo's own eyes narrowed to slits. "He hit you. Again."

A corner of Hux's mouth turned upward without a trace of humor. "A parting gift before he left." Then he tilted his head a little and sighed wearily. "Don't look at me like that. You can't honestly be that surprised."

From what he -- and _the rest of the ship_ \-- had witnessed earlier, Kylo agreed it wasn't surprising. The former Imperial Commandant that called himself Hux's father had made his opinions very clear, of both his son and everyone under his command. Kylo didn't fall into either category, his status as the leader of the Knights of Ren safeguarding him from an overt attack -- old Empire veterans had long memories of the Force, after all -- but their brief introduction had left him burning inside. He was angry then and furious now.

"Let me see it," Kylo said.

He stepped into a ring of light and waited for Hux to follow. The general only stared back for a short stretch, but then his feet began to move. In his hand was a white towel splotched with red. When Kylo took it, he noticed it was half dampened with water and half dry. He didn't want to think of how commonplace it was for Hux to clean himself up after visits from his father. In the years they had worked together, Kylo could count on one hand how many times he'd heard about Brendol Hux. He definitely had never seen the man behind the name before today.

While Kylo got a closer look at his face, Hux pointedly didn't look at him at all. He straightened his uniform and combed his hair with his fingers despite his face being turned side to side and Kylo keeping a gloved hand along his jaw.

"That's enough," Hux said firmly. He didn't move away, however.

Kylo dabbed his lip one last time, the towel coming away with only a small fleck of blood soaked into it. He refolded it to the cleanest area of the damp side and lightly held Hux's chin in his fingers again as he pressed the cool dampness to Hux's left cheek. Hux couldn't suppress a tiny gasp, not with Kylo so close to him.

"Ice would be better," Kylo murmured, his gaze flicking up from the towel to meet Hux's as he added, "don't you think?"

Hux breathed shallowly, in and out, and suddenly snapped to attention. He stepped back, out of Kylo's reach, eyes blinking rapidly.

"Stop it," his mouth said, seemingly of its own will.

Hux's face was full of conflicting emotions for a moment, and then it cleared. He held out his hand for the towel. Kylo silently passed it back.

Kylo's brows knitted together. He could feel the anxiety building in the air again, but the measurements were different this time.

"General," he paused, "if I may say one thing."

The words were awkward, and, judging by the shift in Hux's posture, he thought so as well.

"Your-- _he_ was wrong." He took a small step closer and in the back of his mind was pleased that Hux didn't move away again. His dark eyes looking fiercely into the light eyes before him, Kylo spoke with certainty. "You are not a disappointment."

Kylo couldn't describe what he then saw in Hux, but he could better understand the wave of emotions he felt drift from Hux at hearing him -- no, _listening_ to him.

When Hux unfroze, he gave a short nod. Kylo wasn't sure if it was to him or to himself, though. And then the general seemed to remember the towel in his hand, his fingers running over it absentmindedly at first.

"This is of little use now," he said, briefly holding up the cloth. It disappeared into a pocket. "But," he glanced at Kylo and then toward the nearest of the storage room's exits, "maybe if..."

Hux trailed off, uncertainty getting the better of him.

"I have something that may help," Kylo said. He was a little surprised at the abrupt idea, but the image of Hux walking into medical as he was now was unacceptable.

He was more surprised that Hux nodded and started for the door without asking any questions.

"Lead the way, Ren."

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt (left anonymously): Pre-Kylo/Hux Disappointing your father (possible TW abuse)  
> For his failure with the Starkiller program, Hux Sr. slaps Hux right across the face, hard, knocking him to the deck in front of Kylo and the remains of Hux's entire command. Hux acts like its nothing despite the horrified shame and everyone staring in shock. Everything carries on as normal, Hux Sr. inspecting the ship and finding fault everywhere. Kylo encounters Hux later in a little-used part of the ship, a complete wreck. They bond awkwardly over their father issues (somehow), and Kylux develops.  
> Originally posted [here](https://tfa-kink.dreamwidth.org/1841.html?thread=3667761#cmt3707185) (fill #1).  
> I only own the writing.
> 
> For the curious... When I first posted this, I marked it as a mini fill because I couldn't (and still can't) write the parental abuse, let alone in a public setting. (I also started rambling about _Inception_ , which significantly influenced ~~everything~~ the title, ahahaha... ha.) The last line of the prompt would have been difficult to include, too, without multiplying the word count.


End file.
